A powerful addition to Patrice Bäumel's steadily growing Kompakt catalog, Speicher 89 is the third contribution to the series from the Dutch producer and former Trouw resident. Hitting dancefloors in the wake of Speicher 81 (2014) and Speicher 85 (KOM EX085EP, 2015), this offering delivers a duo of massive belters, headlined by cyber-calypso manifesto "Dum Dum" and backed with techno string showdown "Surge." Both tracks nourish some serious bass drops while showcasing an artist invested in carefully crafted melody and impeccable flow-- excellent material from a leading beatsmith and DJ who knows how to woo a crowd.

Patrice Bäumel occupies a highly distinctive and less-trodden niche in electronic music. He operates at the intersection of the emotive and the technical, with his keen ear for melody and drama working in tandem with intricate sound design and experimental templates. While one could loosely label him a techno artist, his love of ambient and electronica is just as crucial to his musical identity as any sense of dancefloor machination might be. A stalwart of the Amsterdam scene who held residencies at the legendary Club 11 and Trouw, he has proven himself to be a formidable producer with releases on Kompakt, !K7, Get Physical, My Favorite Robot, and Systematic, in addition to his acclaimed 2010 debut album, Vapour (TRW 001CD). He joins the illustrious Balance Presents canon with a truly cohesive and imaginative piece of work, blending and contrasting the soaring melodies of M83 and ethereal magic of Nils Frahm with the guttural throb of Plastikman; the glistening highs of Max Cooper (remixing Stephan Bodzin) with the dark lows of FKA Twigs. The mix also features three exclusive productions from Bäumel. It opens with his "Intro," hits a moment of high drama with his intense, brooding version of Underworld's "Bird 1," and closes with the mesmeric "Departure," a beatless slice of epic crescendos, penetrating sub blasts, and intense percussion that loses nothing from the absence of kicks. Bäumel painstakingly arranged the whole affair using harmonic matching, automation, transposing looping, and editing, and finally passed it through an analog mixer for a crisp, tight aesthetic. "I hope for the mix to contain enough intelligence and emotion to be a worthwhile listen under many circumstances. It's not all easy listening; some parts really have teeth. So by nature, the mix is not -- and was never meant to be -- for people with a low tolerance for music and sound that is outspoken. I didn't want to dumb it down. I think it's a great after-hour home party mix but I hope that it sparks people's imagination and creativity in all kinds of situations." Also includes tracks by Heathered Pearls, Jon Hopkins, Kurt Baggaley, Christopher Bissonnette, Throwing Snow, Vessels remixed by Barker & Baumecker, Doubtingthomas, Minilogue remixed by Jichael Mackson, Bee Mask, DJ Hell remixed by Playgroup, Guy J, Barry Jamieson remixed by Charlie May, Jesse Somfay, El_Txef_A remixed by Dave DK, and Kangding Ray.

Patrice Bäumel made a name for himself as one of the resident selectors at the sorely missed Amsterdam club Trouw and hasn't let up since. His first release on Correspondant showcases a punchy polyphony with "North" and "In This World," easily as big as anything the label's ever released, while Voiski's remix of "North" brings the original's arps to the fore and takes the track to the most danceable fringes of IDM.

Amsterdam-bred floor-charmer and producing mastermind Patrice Bäumel is one of the most revered resident DJs and techno innovators from Amsterdam's iconic, but sadly defunct Trouw club. His work includes releases on labels as diverse as Trapez, Get Physical, and Systematic, with 2014 highlights including his stellar remix of GusGus's "Obnoxiously Sexual" and Speicher 81 (KOM EX081EP). "Lowrider" is a clattering minimalist groover with maximum impact, vetting helplessly stuck floors with a surge of adrenalin-fuelled percussion and occasional synth roars. "The Vanishing" is a true melodic meltdown monster with an epic vocal break that will leave no roof or hand unraised.

For Speicher 81, Amsterdam-based DJ and producer Patrice Bäumel presents two adventurous minimal epics with decidedly mind-bending propensities. "Mile High Gang" serves as a perfect example for his credo, underpinning its vibrant synth sequences with a meticulously-crafted and intensely propelling beat. The true mind-bender, however, arrives with the flipside's aptly-named "Vertigo," a deceptively simple, yet unstoppable son-of-a-pitch-shifter, cutting its way through spiraling serpentines in dizzying heights. Patrice Bäumel commutes between electronic factions with ease: he caters to a purist crowd as well as those in dire need of sonic surprises, giving both daydreamers and nighthawks something to rock out about.

Patrice Bäumel has made a name for himself as a producer of warm, lustrous and dynamic dancefloor music. "Roar" builds suspense with a taut, tense rhythmic backbone, consisting only of a hand-clap and a lisping hi-hat. "Comfortably Uncomfortable" features a tough kick-drum, a panning synth motif and a precision-tooled bass melody. "Clair" swings with a kick-drum offset by Latin percussion patterns and melody. A velvety, synthetic string theme swells into the foreground, making it a deeply atmospheric, dramatic track.

This is the debut album from producer and Trouw (Amsterdam) resident DJ Patrice Bäumel, known for previous releases on Get Physical, Trapez and !K7. The album steers clear of many clichés surrounding artist albums done by DJs in this day and age. Instead of delivering a collection of dancefloor singles or getting lost in awkward style experiments, Bäumel chooses a homogenic approach worthy of the album format. All tracks seamlessly flow into each other to form a meandering 54-minute trip. In spirit, Vapour is 100% techno, a continuous act of finding balance between contrasting elements of man vs. machine. Abstract, precise rhythms and soundscapes form a dark, almost otherworldly backdrop to perfectly-measured emotional outbursts. Vapour does not dictate what the listener is supposed to feel at any given moment, but is a stimulant to his imagination, leaving plenty of room to "fill in the gaps." Bäumel's maiden album threads a fine line between club and living room. Like a well-designed podcast, Vapour works in many life situations. It is a cleverly-crafted and timeless piece of listening techno, providing the kind of fluidity that works wonderfully on a car stereo, your iPod or in afterhour situations, with enough horsepower under its hood to hold its own on the dancefloor.

Patrice Bäumel is a phenomenon on Trapez. "Flow" is a cool mighty Chicago techno house track with a grinding bass line, stuttering vocals and an overall old school touch. "Cavern" works with psycho-acoustic microphone sounds which seem to linger in the background, and short vocal stabs and mighty percussive programming provide the track with a stronger active rhythm. Melodic sequences slowly make their way into the track, never obtrusive. Pure hedonism for the techno crowd.

Amsterdam-based artist Patrice Bäumel released his very successful first record Mutant Pop in 2005. Now presenting "Just Electricity" -- a huge post-Chicago A-side track with melodic strings, creating dramatic moments with ups and downs -- never hectic, always shiny. This track has been charted by leading artists in Amsterdam such as Shinedoe and DJ Darko as a huge tune for 2007. "Fantomas" gets started stripped-down with a kick and a bouncy electro bassline, steadily moving towards a melodic climax, which sees all hands up. Two wonderful tracks with a universal approach, fusing Detroit and Chicago with modern European influences.

"Born 1975 in Dresden, Germany, Patrice was raised on a diet of free jazz, Frank Zappa and all kinds of other music you wouldn't normally expect in an average household. Starting to develop a musical taste of his own, his main influences quickly became bands like Depeche Mode, The Cure and Yello. The love for combining cold synthetic sounds with a warm human touch has stayed with him until today. Today, Patrice's musical style can best be described as genre-bending, organic, never loosing sight of the groove, and melting '80s electronic music with today's cutting edge underground house and techno, a style he refers to as 'Mutant Pop', which is his first release to date on Trapez."